A Different Kind of View
by Beige Flicka
Summary: I'm only playing with Camerons toys! Set 10years after the seige at JP. They're trying to figure out what they feel, what they are. But how can you when you're a transgenic? a Solider? *M/A* Give it a chance, first D.A-ff Chapter 3 makes it complete!
1. Chapter 1

**A Different Kind of View**

Max stood on top of the Space Needle, the view was breathtaking, even though the pulse had turned almost the entire city into ruins, it was still one hell of a view. Silently, as the cat in her DNA, she sat down and stretched her legs in front of her. Crossing the the feet by her ankles and leaned back, resting on her elbows. Tonight was a peaceful night, no wind and surprisingly, no rain. She couldn't help but smile to herself. Unfortunately, it wouldn't last long.

"Who'd of thought that Max Guevara could chill out?"

Of course it had to be him! Max groaned loudly and let her elbows give in and laid down completely on her back, stretching her limbs, as if she was pretending to be the letter "X". It was in her genes after all, she thought to herself.

It was a clear night and the stares were shining. But instead of staring up at beautiful stars, she was staring up at Alec's eyes, who were oddly enough sparkling. Like he was watching something hilarious. What gives? So she closed her eyes and felt a migraine sneaking up on her. Why did it have to be _him?_

"Leave me alone, pretty-boy!"

"Ouch, you couldn't be bitchier than that? I'm worried!"

She pried one eye open when he spoke and saw how he tried faking a pout, it look ridiculous from her point of view, didn't he realize that she saw him upside down?

Alec on the other hand, couldn't enjoy the view any less. Seattle looked like hell once you were down on street-level, but from here? It looked like something from those pre-pulse movies, you know? Where the future sucked? Yeah, guess Hollywood were right. The future does suck.

But he wasn't looking out on the city, his eyes were glued on Max. For once she wasn't wearing her normal black attire, but a pair of washed-out jeans, looking as tight as her cat suit. Now that was something he missed, her cat suit. Girl sure knew how to work that! She topped her jeans off with a red t-shirt, again as tight as possible and where was her leather jacket? Instead she had a big dark gray hoddie with a zipper on the front. It wasn't even zipped up! Even if it wasn't windy, it was still cold up here and she didn't even care?

Not that Alec cared, he could easily see that she was somewhat cold, if the stiff nipples were prof enough and in his world? That meant either cold or aroused and with a quick sniff, he knew she was cold. Like Max could be horny anyways? Not like he cared, right? 'Cause he didn't. Nope.

"Are you done staring at me? Just go already!"

He hadn't even thought about how intensely he had looked at her, she was hot, but she was also the biggest bitch he knew. Oddly enough, she was also his friend and he was worried. So he shook his head at her, showing his care-free smile and laid down beside her. Just to piss her off more, he laid as close as possible, using her arm as a pillow and stared up at the sky. Like it was the most normal thing for them to do.

"Alec, what the hell, get off of me!"

"Max, I'm using your arm, that's it. I'm not on top of you, relax alright?"

She tried prying her arm lose, but that damn annoying jackass just pressed his head further down into her arm, painfully too! Once she saw that he wasn't in fact smirking at the sky for her lame attempts, she realized he wasn't his usual self. So she laid down and turned her entire body towards him and just looked at him. Being a transgenic meant that she had a photographic-memory and maybe looking at Alec so close was a bad idea. She knew he was good looking, she wasn't blind and yet, she couldn't look away.

"I was gonna say 'take a picture, it'll last longer', but then again, you're not an ordinary, right?"

Max closed her eyes and sighed, it felt like she had been hit, shoot, stabbed and shoot again.

"Right.."

Still eyes closed, she felt Alec move away and sit up, the same arm he had used was quickly pulled back to herself and tucked underneath her head, used like a pillow again. His scent hung thickly in the material and she buried her face into it and inhaled deeply, not really thinking about what she was doing. A long hidden weight from her shoulders lifted and before she could stop herself, she let out a content sigh and smiled.

Alec couldn't take it, for some reason he had thought that she would fight harder for her arm and yeah, it pissed him off when she tried to get free and didn't bother to hide it. But when she quickly gave up and laid down on her side, facing him. It was uncomfortable and weird. This was Max!

And she was staring! At him! What the hell?!

Not once did he think the comment about taking a picture would affect her so greatly, but as soon as he heard her sigh, he knew he had done wrong. He could practically feel her eyes close and he felt cold. So he sat up, pulled up his knees and hugged them. Keeping his Manticore-mask on as he gazed out over the city for the first time that night. The weird thing was, that she had answered his rhetorical question and actually agreed with him.

He glanced over his shoulder to look at her and saw that she was still lying on her side, using her arm as a pillow, he didn't think much of the sight until he saw her bury her face in the fabric and inhale deeply, sigh and smile. He knew she wasn't aware of him looking at her, this was probably something very private for her and he felt like a pervert for watching her. You didn't need to be an ordinary to figure out that it was _his scent_ that got her so.. So... What exactly, he didn't know.

"Alec?"

If he was an ordinary, he wouldn't have heard her and he wasn't sure if he was supposed to either. Knowing Max, he just laid down again as if he had planned to do it and not to make it easier for her to talk.

Except she didn't want to talk, as soon as she thought it looked like he was lying comfortable, she pulled herself closer to him, rested her head on his shoulder, laid one arm across his chest and put one of her legs in between his, locking him into place.

Shock wasn't even close to describe what Alec felt, his first instinct was to open his mouth and say something that would end up with a smack-on. But for once he thought better of it and but his hand above hers that was resting lightly on his chest, above his heart. He snaked the other arm around her and hugged her closer to his side and rested his head on her forehead. The silence was killing him though.

"Max?"

This wasn't like her and she knew that, but she needed to have him near. She didn't at first wanna admit it, but as soon as she felt his scent penetrate her senses, she gave in and she hated herself a little bit for being weak.

"Let's just pretend I'm someone else you're with. I'm just so.. tired, please?"

"I could never pretend with you, come on, you know that, right?"

"Lie to me Alec and hold me, I'm not Max tonight, I'm lost, okay?"

What the hell do you answer to that? Alec felt her tense up, probably waiting for his answer or smart-alec comment. He hugged her closer and kissed her lightly on top of her head, praying to whatever God there is, that she couldn't feel how hard and fast his heart was beating. He was seriously scared now and didn't know what to do.

As if she read his mind, she took away her hand that was resting above his heart. He thought she was gonna pull away first, but then noticed that she was just trying to get her hair out of her face, being the gentleman he was sometimes, he pulled the few strays away.

"Thanks"

"No prob."

Carefully, her hand traveled up his chest and came to a stop at his neck, drawing lazy patterns with her fingernails. Not knowing what to do with his free hand, he took his chances and placed it on her hip, hugging her even painfully closer.

"Alec, I can't breathe."

"Right, sorry.."

He eased his hold on her and took away his hand from her hip to run his fingers through his hair, ending with his hand staying above his hand, nervously twitching. Didn't she realize that she was driving him slowly insane with her hand so close to the bar code? Stupid 09er.

Max knew she was about to fall asleep, wouldn't that be a first time on top of the Space Needle? How weird was it that she felt this safe with Alec? The big screw up? She couldn't help but shut her eyes hard, remembering that he wasn't like that anymore. She was too hard on him, she knew that, he knew that and the rest who knew them did as well.

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay, I shouldn't.. "

"..No, I mean I'm sorry I keep pushing you away."

"...That's.. not... Are you Sam?! 'Cause if you are, you sure as hell nailed Max scent down!"

"Eeew, Alec, you're such an ass! I'm trying to be serious here!"

Somehow, even though she had done her best to make it impossible, he untangled himself from her and stood up. A flood of panic went through every fiber of her bone. Was he leaving? She couldn't move from the spot, kept her eyes locked on his and held her breathe. For the first time did she notice his unusual wardrobe. He was dressed as a businessman, with a suit and tie and where the hell did he find those shoes? And more importantly, how is it possible that everything still looks clean and fresh after lying next to her up on the Space Needle?!

"Alec, what the hell are you wearing??"

His eyes hardened, shoulders drawn back. Like she has a right to ask him _that?! _

"It's called a suit and if I'm not mistaking, you're supposed to wear a dress tonight, remember?"

"Shit!"

"Yeah, Max. _Shit!_"

And just like that, he was gone. Max stared at the spot he once stood. Damn him for making a dramatic exit, by blurring none the less! Seriously, who does that? And how could she forget? _Dammit, get a grip of yourself, solider! _The thought made her sigh loudly, it had taken her a while to understand that she was borne and breed a solider, that was just her life. She was a transgenic and not an ordinary, something she had tried to be for so long. If Logan saw her now, he'd probably sigh and shake his head and use that _Voice_ while saying her name.. God, Logan, get over yourself!

With the grace only a transgenic have, she flipped herself up on her feet and blurred down the stairs to her ninja, she wasn't prepared to be greeted by Alec so soon, but he didn't stay long.

"I'll cover for you, Max. One hour is all I can give you, alright?"

That hard stare again and she honestly felt cornered and scared, she had never meant to piss him off, but like always, she did. She stiffly jerked her head and was glad when he understood that it was meant as a _Yes, Sir_. He walked briskly away and to her surprise, jumped into a car and drove off. Another mystery of Alec showed its face. Where was his beloved bike?

With a shrug, she jumped on her baby and fired it up, its lovely purring-sound making her smile.

"I won't need a freaking hour, Alec. Geez, what do you take me for? Original Cindy?"

And speaking of her, how was she gonna explain this one to her? She was late and to top it off, she had completely forgotten about what night it was, what kind of a _Leader_ does that?

Tonight was the night they celebrated the transgenic's right of independence, but Max felt nothing but depression tonight. Five years of freedom and all she wanted was freedom for herself. Something Logan never had provided. She gunned the engine and turned a sharp corner, almost scraping her knees while at it. Who cares? Not her and certainly not Alec.

If she only knew how wrong she was.


	2. Chapter 2

**Celebration or What?**

The party was going strong, five hours into it and still no sign of Max or Alec, but the occupants knew them and how they acted, it was them for gods sake! Original Cindy knew this but she still couldn't help but feel like it was wrong. They should've been here from the start, like they've been at the previous parties they've held. Which were always on this day. May 1st. Their Independence Day.

It was her turn taking care of refreshments, making sure that Mole didn't pour anything of his dangerous stuff, transgenics might handle his so called alcohol, but an ordinary couldn't and there were plenty of those here as well.

Five years of fighting the military and now five years of freedom. All in all; ten years after the siege on Jam Pony and life was good, sort of. There were of course people out in the world who hated the transgenics and their ordinary friends. Original Cindy had to move from her old apartment that she used to share with Max and into Sketchy's place. A girl living on her own, who everyone knew were best friends with the transgenics leader, was dangerous. And speaking of that fool, where the hell was Sketchy?

"Damn wigga probably tryin to get it on with some fine transgenic ass, stupid."

She muttered to herself while pouring another drink for the coming masses, who knew that so many people would show up?

"Careful, Cindy, you never know who could hear you, transgenic's are all over this place, remember?"

"Pretty-boy?! Where da hell you been? Original Cindy don't wanna be babysittin tonight!"

"Yeah, I know and look, I'm really sorry, but hey! I'm here now, what did I miss?"

"Well for starters, ya missed out on the cheering and the screaming, but other than that, nothing you ain't seen before. Where's our girl?"

Alec silently cursed, wishing Original Cindy would assume Max had showed up with him and was around with the others, but if Original Cindy asked a question, it meant that Original Cindy was asking for a reason. Damn smart ordinary.

"Boy, you betta hurry up and reply, I ain't got all night, fool!"

God he loved that woman, she was still the same as their days back at Jam Pony, but sadly that meant she was just as impatient now as back then.

"I don't know Cindy, she's gotta be around here, right? She's our leader, duh."

"Don't 'duh' me, pretty-boy, I know you, _both_, remember? Come on, talk to me, please?"

"She wasn't in our apartment, I thought she was still trying to figure out what to do with her hair or whatever, you know how Max is."

"Sure do, still do. So?"

"I even went to Logan's place, she wasn't there either."

"You retarded or something? You know those two ain't talkin no more!"

"He, yeah you're right, but I couldn't help but rub it in Loggie-bears face you know?"

"What ev, please tell me you found her?"

"I was at the Space Needle, kinda zoned out and forgot time, ya know?"

And there she was, Max in all her glory, how she managed to get from the Space Needle and to their apartment in less than an hour, amazed Alec. It still took some time to get used to the idea of living with her, but he wasn't complaining, it meant he got to see Max they way some others never would, ways only Original Cindy used to see her in. He both loved it and hated it.

In a way, tonight meant their five years of living together as well, not that either of them was going to confess that to the other. That was stupid, right? Like, who cares if you've lived together for that long with somebody you lo..

"So I decided to go casual, but sexy, whatcha think O.C?"

"Mm, lovin the dress boo, where'd ya get it?"

"Gem made it, just for me. Haven't had a reason to wear it until now. Five years ya know?"

She wasn't wearing it for the occasion though, she was wearing it for _him_. Not that she was going to admit it out loud, but she had actually saved the dress for tonight. This night meant that much to everyone and of course to Max too.

There were no surprise that the dress was black, the color everyone associated Max with, what did catch Alec's attention though, was the not so revealing cleavage and how the dress seem to clung to all the right places only to flow nicely and loosely down her legs, hiding them from view. Her entire back was bare and when he took a closer look at the fabric, he noticed that it wasn't entirely black, but shifting depending on the light into blood-red. Figures. She had her hair up in a lazy bun, not really keeping anything up, but still making it look sophisticated.

It was everything Max wasn't and everything Logan had wanted her to be. Jealousy flared it's ugly head and Alec couldn't help but look for Mole, hoping he had his strong stuff tucked away in his jacket. The lizard-man was no where in sight, damn.

"You not gonna give our girl some praise?"

"What? Oh, yeah. You look like.."

"..Save it, Alec. I don't care what you think, 'kay?"

"_Fine!_"

If that was how she was gonna act, why should he stay around? So without another word, Alec left the girls to find Mole, if there was one thing he needed now, it was shit-strong alcohol.

Max felt stupid, she honestly had wanted his opinion, but she didn't wanna hear it when someone asked about it. She wanted him to go up to her and say something nice about her dress, but when Original Cindy brought it up, Max of course had panicked and her inner-bitch had surfaced.

"What's his problem?"

"I don't know, he wasn't himself when he found me up at Space Needle either, I don't get it."

"Maybe it's just one of those days, ya know?"

"Cindy, he's a guy, you gotta realize that, right?"

"Girl don't gimme that look, we both know how Alec gets."

"Yeah? And what's that?"

"I said quit it with that look, boo, or I'll smack your ass. He's down, aight?"

"Ha! Yeah right, this is Alec, Mr. I'm always alright!"

"Aight, boo. Your call, I'm just sayin though.."

Max nodded and searched the crowd after their subject of conversation, but couldn't see him anywhere, she sighed but quickly rolled her eyes, feeling suddenly that she had gotten soft after living with him for so long. That boy got under your skin and did all kinds of things to your head. Nothing positive either, or so she tried to convince herself.

"Little Fella!"

"Big Fella, hey you!"

Max was engulfed in a bone-crushing hug, lifted from the ground by Joshua. He still knew how to show his love for the fearless leader.

"Doggy-boy, put Max down, before her dress gets ruined."

"Oh, sorry Little Fella. Joshua just happy. Hi Original Cindy."

"Hey Joshua, you good?"

"Joshua very good, Joshua happy tonight!"

"Why is that, Big Fella?"

"New painting! Gave it to Medium Fella, very special!"

"Who's Medium Fella?"

"Original Cindy know Medium Fella, calls him Alec."

"Aight, I remember now, sorry Big boy."

"It's okay, Joshua forgive, no sweat."

"Hey uhm, Joshua? What painting and what's so special about it? I mean, Alec and I live together now, how come I haven't seen it yet?"

Joshua just clapped his hands together, rubbing them while looking back and forth at Max and Original Cindy, either he had a secret he really wanted to share or he had a secret he _didn't_ wanna share. By the looks of his smile, that was so big it showed his canine teeth, the painting was apparently very, very special. But to who? Himself or Alec? Max was feeling like a curious cat and itching to find out. A laugh slipped from her lips.

"Oh come on, spill already, please?"

"Little Fella wait and see, Joshua knows she will like it."

Once again, Max found herself being lifted up in his arms and embraced, she never got tired of his hugs and smiled. When Joshua put her down again, he walked backwards and waved, turned around and almost disappeared into the masses of partying people, being so tall made it easy for everyone to point him out.

In the mean time, Alec had spent his time watching the scene from up above, standing on the roof, looking in by a broken ceiling-window. He had failed finding Mole and decided the next best thing to anything alcoholic, was fresh air.

When he saw how Max got curious about his painting, he smirked to himself, thanking himself for hiding it so well. It wasn't something Joshua had just decided to paint for Alec, it was something he had asked Joshua to paint, to give Max later. As in later tonight.

He still wanted to be mad at her though, for being such a bitch when Original Cindy had wanted his thoughts on the dress, but during his search for Mole, he had remembered how weird Max had been earlier at the Space Needle and let it slide. She wasn't happy tonight for some reason, he didn't know why but started to suspect that she missed Logan and _that_ pissed him off.

Logan wasn't in their lives anymore and still Alec had to compete with him. He almost wished he hadn't talked Logan out of moving from Seattle, but Max had made him. Stupid 09er.

Truth was, Logan had thought about going national with Eyes Only, but to do so he had to move to Washington D.C and for some reason, Max wasn't okay with that. Alec though? He had actually shared a toast with a bunch of X-5's, wishing the annoying ordinary a happy boring life.

And then in stormed the hurricane Max and demanded that Alec or someone else made Logan stay, she wouldn't explain why, just threatened with various different painful tasks if no one would do it. So Alec had volunteered and the rest was history.

So much history was between those two that he knew that he didn't stand a chance. Of course the result of making him stay in Seattle was that Logan refused to speak to Max ever again, so much for claiming to love a woman. Alec snorted, the man had married Asha later, they had a kid too. Weird.

Shaking his head out of memory lane, Alec turned away from the window and went to the ledge to sit down and gaze at the view. It had nothing compared to the Space Needle, but it was still a view, T.C wasn't so toxic anymore, not enough to kill an ordinary, hence the reason they had been able to invite so many people of this years party. They had sold tickets this time, to make money for them to use on whatever they needed these days. Mostly clothes and toys for the kids. This was home.

"Wanna tell me about the 'mysterious painting' Joshua gave you?"

_Shit_. He hadn't notice her and all she had done was walk up to him, when he thought about it, he might've heard the clicking of her heals, but he guessed he had filed it away as noise from the party. He was getting sloppy.

Max was about to sit down next to him, but knew that would only ruin the dress so opted for standing a few steps behind him, feeling like she had won some competition when she noticed that he _hadn't_ noticed her. Score 1-0 to Max.

Alec removed his jacket and laid it out next to him.

"Have a seat, Maxie."

"Don't call me that."

"Whatever.."

"Thanks by the way"

"Sure."

She took the offered seat and waited for him to answer her previous question. Ten minutes. Fifteen minutes. Twenty minutes. Was he ignoring her or something?

"Well?"

"It can wait, okay?"

"Come on, I'm dying here, please?"

"You'll get to see it later, I promise."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, don't worry about Maxie."

She sighed, the nickname didn't really bother her, it was just a habit of theirs to piss each other off, only they weren't so good at it anymore, the spark was almost gone and she missed it. Maybe living together did that to you and if that was the case, she was so moving out. Hell, he should move out, no way was she gonna give up the bathtub _and_ shower!

"What's with the fancy dress?"

"What's with the fancy suit?"

"It's the same suit as every year, Maxie, you know that."

Yeah, she did know that. Why was he asking about her dress? Didn't he like it? She had seen a similar stile of dress on a previous girlfriend of his and.. And then? Max looked down at her feet, barely visual. Should she tell the truth? Oh hell, here it goes.

"I thought you'd like it."

"Don't you mean Logan?"

"Jesus, Alec, no! You, okay? I wore it for you, Alec McDowell, my room-mate!"

"Riight, whatever you say."

The way he drawled out the words made it clear he was about to leave, like she was feeding him lies as horrible smelling as horse shit. Stupid, selfish and stupid man! She got up at the same time as him and like always, moving in sync with each other. Dusting off his jacket and held it out for him to take, she was surprised when he shook his head.

"Come on, it completes the suit."

"Wear it yourself, cover yourself up."

"_What?!_"

"Don't get me wrong, Maxie, but that dress? Awesome, hell even hot, but it's not you."

"What... You.. What _the hell_ does that mean?!"

He took the offered jacket and Max instantly smiled, only to frown when he walked around her and placed it on her shoulders, still standing behind her, he closed his arms around her, trapping her against his chest and buried his face in her hair, inhaling deeply. Max relaxed when she felt his scent and warmth surround her, forgetting that she was upset. Typical how Alec had to remind her.

"This dress isn't you Max, I know you, better than you think."

Before she could respond, she felt cold and knew he had left her and just like before, he didn't give her a chance to reply. Feeling self-conscious, Max hugged his jacket closer and sat down on the floor, not giving a damn if her dress got dirty or ruined.

**A.N; Thanks to "throwerpro", "Kare38", "darkaznangel452", "lalafromlalaland", "predatorynature" for leaving reviews on my first chapter, when I first started writing it, I had no idea where I was going with it until I felt it was a finished chapter. But I have some ideas how I can continue this! This is also my first attempt at writing Dark Angel, so I can only hope I do it justice..**


	3. Chapter 3

**A Walk Down on Memory Lane**

The painting was a lot different from the previous ones Joshua had made, usually he just painted whatever he wanted, but Alec had come to him and wished for something special, he wanted something with the Space Needle, Max and himself. How was up to Joshua and the result was amazing.

He'd simply gone with just painting a close up of the Space Needle, bits of the sky was seen, but not much, in the center of the piece was Max, standing tall and proudly, with her arms crossed over her chest and looking out over the city. Or rather looking at who ever was looking at the painting.

At first glance you would never had caught it, but if you were as observant as the man who was currently staring at the master-piece, you'd see that behind Max, still inside the building, hiding in the shadows, stood Alec, keeping an eye on her. As always.

"Logan? It's time for bed."

He turned around and looked at Asha and smiled, getting together with that woman had been at first, different. None of them knew if she was just a rebound, but she had insisted that she was okay with it and considering the life they lived, she had wanted every bit of happiness she could find, even if it killed her inside day by day. Because in the beginning, Logan still hadn't learn to hide his love for Max whenever she was in the room.

But the love for Max had completely disappeared the night Alec had showed up and forced Logan and Asha to stay in town. This was eight years ago.

"I'll be there in just a minute."

Logan turned to the painting again and lost himself in old memories as Asha went to leave, only to stop and walk up beside her husband, grasping his hand and watched his emotion play out. She truly loved him, but couldn't help but feel that Max was still in his heart.

"Do you miss her?"

"Hmm? Who?"

"Oh come on, honey, Max of course."

She watched him as he sighed, removed his glasses and put them aside. Slowly he turned to face her and cupped her cheek with one hand. It was a clear sign he wanted her full attention, it was something he always used to do back when ever they had fights about Max.

"I thought we were past this?"

"I know, I just.. Alec shows up with this painting and you willingly accept to hide it for him?"

"I don't miss her as I miss you when you're at work and the bed is cold, if that's what you mean. I just miss the almost-friendship I had with them, you know?"

"God, I'm sorry and I know, I sometimes miss it too. Forgive?"

"Forgotten already sweetie."

He leaned his head to rest on her forehead, loving her for asking questions all the time, but hating that he made her feel insecure. On an impulse, he quickly stepped away and with a devil-may-care smile, grabbed Asha and threw her over his shoulder and ran into the bedroom, loving the thrill and going insane by her laughter. He couldn't be happier.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

When Sketchy got home from the party, Original Cindy was already ready for bed, wearing some old t-shirt of his and her own sweatpants. She looked adorable standing in his beat-up kitchen and drinking whats supposed to be coffee. He took of his jacket and shoes, a rain had surprised him on his walk home, making his shoes muddy and uncomfortably wet.

"Anything left for me? I'm freezing."

"Sure fool, made some extra once the rain started."

To show his gratitude, he gave her smile and a kiss on the cheek. Over the years everything had changed, including them. Living together meant survival and it had also made their friendship stronger.

"I didn't see ya anywhere at the party, ya hidin or somethin?"

"Naaah, I was talking with some ordinary about this and that you know?"

"Dumb ass, ya do realize you're an ordinary ya self?"

"You know what I mean, Cin! Anyways this girl, who happened to be an ordinary, had come all the way from.. Ugh.. Damn, what was it? Mexico? Yeah, that's right, Mexico! And she even had saved cash to be able to attend the party, how cool is that?!"

"Ya don't think she was.. ya know, spyin or anythin?"

"At first I was thinking the same thing, but she.. I don't know, seems too clumsy for a spy."

"Aight, but just to be safe, ya better tell Alec about her later, 'kay?"

"I already left a message for him on his cell, where'd he go anyway? I saw him storm off..?"

"I don't know, I just hope Max found him."

"They're worse than Tom & Jerry, you know?"

"Who?"

"That cartoon I showed you last week, remember?"

"Oh yeah, but we're still not getting a stupid DVD-collection, ya hear me?"

"That was only a joke, Cindy, you know that. Anyway, I'm hitting the sack, you coming?"

"Just gotta finish up with the dishes, I'll be there in a sec."

"Forget the dishes, we were at a party the entire day _and_ night, let's catch some z's!"

He threw his arms around her neck and guided her to their bedroom, sleeping in the same bed had at first been weird for her, she even had tried getting Sketchy to sleep on the couch, but when he pointed out that it was his bed and his apartment and he could sleep in his own bed. If that was a problem for her? Tough luck. Hearing him say that to her had surprised her, he never raised his voice or a hand, but he sure knew how to use words to his advantage. Being a reporter made him smarter. She almost hated it, but was still proud over him.

Now, sharing a bed meant that they had each others back, both keeping a weapon underneath the pillow. They had undergone some light training with Max and Alec for self defense. Even if Sketchy had a better salary now, being a reporter and all, still didn't mean that they could live in a fancy sector, like Logan did. It just meant that they could live in a safer sector then before, but it wasn't safe enough.

But that had nothing to do with the sector, ironically enough, they wouldn't be living safer next door to Logan, it had everything to do with who they were, they were always living on the edge. Original Cindy being a proud supporter of the transgenics rights and Sketchy for writing his positive articles about them and what they've done.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Alec really hated breaking and entering into Logan's apartment, when he'd promised the old man he'd call and let him know he needed the painting back, but after his messed up talk with Max on the roof-top, plans had changed and he just wanted her to see the painting.

In a way, he thought it was ironic that Logan was with Asha, given the fact that they had cured him. All bets were off and he could do the puppy eyes with Max, but didn't? Who'd seen that one coming? Probably no one, but Max seemed to be okay with it. Maybe the virus was like a slow and painful breakup and once it was gone? There was nothing left for them to build a relationship on. At least that's what Alec prayed for.

Seeing the painting leaning against the wall, he carefully walked up to and touched its frame with one single finger, loving what it presented. Almost forgetting where he was, he smirked and removed the painting from the frame and put into special designed bag for rolled up paintings. He then left a note for Logan, to let him know he'd been there and to say thanks.

"Like stealing candy from a baby..Who's most definitely an ordinary!"

Having problems containing his laugh at the poor joke, he left as soon as he could, heading home and hoping Max still was at the party. Knowing her, she probably was up at the Space Needle. Again. Weird 09er.

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Max was pissed, royally pissed. As she had stubbornly sat on the rooftop, listening on how the party had died out, almost ridiculously slow too, the rain had decided to join her. Stupid Seattle weather! She wasn't stupid enough to sit around and wait out the rain, so had awkwardly risen. Wearing a long dress made it difficult, but if you really are stubborn; you can do it! Just rip the dress a new one and make it a tiny bit shorter, say like a top, then tie the offending fabric around the waist and voilá! A skirt! Or something that could be a skirt. Whatever, it's not like she cared, Alec hadn't liked the dress and if Gem asked about it, she'd straight up lie and say its still in one piece.

It only figures that when she got home, Alec wasn't there and she had a lash-out all planned out in her head and now she couldn't even do that? How dare he?!

Feeling as stupid as she looked, she kicked off her high heels and stormed off to the bathroom and bit by bit, pieces of her dress were ripped from her body, leaving her naked once she stood under the hot flow of water in the shower.

"Stupid dress.. Stupid party... Stupid Alec.. Stupid me.."

Leaning her back against the wall, she slowly sunk down on the floor and just sat there, wishing she could go back in time, when life was easier and she didn't live with anyone but herself, a life before Seattle that was in a lot of ways more dangerous than now, but not really. Back then no one had a face to X-5 452 and now? She was a freaking leader of the transgenics! Life was cruel. Or was it?

When she heard the front door open and close, she knew he was home and since when had the water turned cold? So much for getting warmed up after spending time outside in the cold rain. So she got up and put on her bathrobe, thanked god it was warm and soft.

"Nice trail of crumbs, you expecting me in the shower?"

"Please!"

"Uhm, is that your dress?"

"So?"

"Thought you liked it?"

"You thought wrong."

Alec scratched the back of his head, wondering why she'd destroyed that dress. He'd seen it plenty times before, hanging in the back of her closet, never used. Honestly he thought that it would be a dress she'd use if she felt like she wanted Logan back, you know, seduce the old man? Mentally gaging at the image those thoughts provided, Alec went to their bedroom to change into dry clothes, he knew all the warm water was used up, the humid air sort of gave it away. Typical and very thoughtful of Max, only not really. You'd never think she had cat in her DNA, but then again, she had shark too. Wonder if that meant she was schizophrenic? Alec smirked.

"Where were you?"

He hadn't noticed that she had gone after him, probably seen him change too, he wondered if that was the reason of her slightly pink cheeks or if that was a result of the shower.

"Needed some air, why?"

"_'Needed some air, why?' _Uhm, we were outside when you left me, remember?_"_

"Yeah, well I felt crowded, so I went to retrieve the painting."

"The one Joshua painted for you? Where is it?"

It was almost scary how she found herself curious as kid at Christmas, but it was so weird that Alec had kept something so simple a secret from her, what was so special about that damn painting? But she tried to keep her cool and act casual about it, her eyes on the other hand? They were sweeping the entire bedroom for clues as to where he'd hid it. Somehow being curious made her fail to remember that he'd just told her that he'd gone to pick it up. As in pick it up somewhere else.

Alec of course realized what she was doing and couldn't help but grin at her, she was too occupied to notice what he was doing, it was only when he pulled a t-shirt on and his faced showed again, that he pretended to be oblivious to her stare.

"Something on my face?"

"_Alec!_ I'm going crazy, okay?!"

"Geez, Maxie, keep that up and you'll wrinkle, but don't worry, I think it's kinda cute!"

"I do not.. _wrinkle!_"

"Riight, Maxie, whatever you say."

He didn't even other to hide his amusement or smile for that matter, when he walked beside her to the living room to roll out the painting on the table. It didn't take long for Max to follow him, when she saw what she was doing, she stopped.

"Is that..?"

"Yeah.."

"And is that..?"

"Mhm.."

"And in the shadows..? Is that... is it...?"

"Yup.."

"And he made this?"

"I asked him, gave him specific details actually."

"What.. details?"

"Space Needle, you and.. Me.."

"Oh.."

_Oh? _That was all she was gonna say? Alec tried his best not to fidget as Max kept her gaze on the painting, he'd turned it so that it was upside down from his point of view and she was standing in front of it and the painting was in between them.

She felt his intense stare on her as she kept looking at the painting, the details were amazing, she knew Joshua was good, but this was so much different than his previous work. So much for a damn painting, it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever looked at.

"I'm not sure if Joshua told you, but it's actually for you."

"For me?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

There was that _oh_ again, seriously, was it that bad? Feeling a little bit unsure what to do, he went to the kitchenette and started to make some coffee. A very tiny part of himself started to regret for even asking Joshua to do this for him, what if this had ruined everything?

"You want any coffee?"

"Please."

Max couldn't believe he'd done this for her, no one had ever done anything as sweet as this and she couldn't look away. As soon as she'd seen that Alec was in the picture, her eyes had remained glued at his shadowed figure. Anyone else could've said it was just some guy watching Max, but she knew Alec and it was clearly him, always watching her back.

A single tear rolled down her cheek, surprised that she was crying, Max started to rub her eyes with the sleeve of her bathrobe, hoping Alec hadn't seen it and if he had? She told herself to make it look like she was wiping away sleep from her eyes or something lame like that.

Suddenly a steaming cup of coffee was in front of her face and she turned to smile at Alec. Really smile at him and when she thought about it, she realized that she didn't do that often enough and by the looks of Alec's face, he thought the same.

"Coffee's kinda bit too hot, so be careful, 'kay?"

"Okay, thanks."

Alec stood next to her looking at the painting. He was keeping his mug by his side, just holding it with his fingers and one finger was tapping the mug unconsciously to a nameless tune. The silence was killing him and maybe he was doing everything he could not to hear it. His left foot started to tap along with his finger. Yeah, he wanted the silence gone for sure!

Max eyes were glued onto Alec, not the painting-Alec, but the real live version standing next to her, how could he not notice that she wasn't looking at his gift for her, but at himself? He was probably ignoring her. Well, that sucks. For him that is.

"Hey, Alec?"

"Hmm..?"

He only moved his head slightly to the side to indicate that he'd heard her, but it wasn't enough for her so she took his mug and sat it beside her own by the paintings edge. What was weird though, was that Alec hadn't moved or said anything, but still kept his eyes on the painting. That wasn't okay with her either, so she took his arm and made him face her.

"Alec?"

"Maxie?"

"Just.. I don't..."

"You sure you're okay? Ever since we left the bedroom, you've been kind of.. retarded?"

"Alec!"

"Just saying.."

"Whatever, I'm trying to talk here, okay?"

"Yeah, you're doing one hell of a job there too."

"Ugh, just forget it!"

How he could ruin such a perfect moment, she had no clue as she stormed off to the bedroom and changed into her pj's and defeatedly crawled into bed. It was to many emotions for one night.

Of course it didn't take long for Alec to enter the bedroom and crawl down next to her without a word, both lying with their back against each other. Neither spoke and were waiting for the other to make the first move or fall asleep, when morning came, nothing had happened. They'd solved a lot of problems that way before, why not now? Only Alec didn't wanna pretend it was nothing and slowly turned around to face her back, waiting for her to do the same.

After ten minutes, Max caved in and turned around, she didn't think she'd be faced with a hurt look, but there he was, waiting for her to lash-out. She closed her eyes and heard him sigh, he probably thought she was trying to show that she was too tired to talk and yeah, she was.

So she did something she had wanted to do for a very long time, she opened her eyes again and reached out her hand and touched his face, tracing his lips with her thumb. The look on his face was a mixture of surprise, shock, happiness and relief, but as soon as her thumb was headed for his lips, she saw pure lust in his eyes and it made her heart skip a beat.

"I love the painting, it's really beautiful! Thank you so much, Alec."

He couldn't speak when she was touching him like that, so instead nodded slowly, he was even afraid that the tiniest movement would scare her away. When her thumb traced his lips again, he closed his eyes and decided that he should force himself to sleep before he'd do anything stupid. Max beat him too it, as he felt her move away her hand and her lips suddenly were upon his. It was a chaste kiss, but he couldn't complain. It was the best kiss he'd ever had.

"Goodnight, Alec."

Max smiled to herself as she turned around again to try and get some sleep, she felt the bed move and soon found Alec's arm holding her, his other arm sneaking under her pillow, she grasped each hand with her own and pulled him closer. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled deeply and then manged to move it aside so that he could kiss her barcode, making her gasp in surprise.

"Goodnight, Maxie."

Feeling overwhelmed by his action, she could only hum her appreciation and snuggle closer to him. Alec hugged her hard and then quickly eased his hold on her, but not too much and still kept his face buried in her hair. None of them had ever felt as comfortable or safe as they did now. It didn't take long for them to fall asleep.

**A.N; God, this chapter was really hard to write, I was obsessed with it too, forgot to eat and go to bed in time lol! But it's finished now!**

**A.N#2; I wanna say thanks for the following for reviewing the previous chapter; "Kare38", "throwerpro", "darkaznaangel452", "juajua", "vampout". You guys rock! :) **


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors Note;**

It seems some parts of my story might be unclear to some, so I thought I'd leave a note to explain.

Max and Alec don't hate each other, it's all written between the lines what they feel for each other, being in a war for five years and then living together for five years have made it difficult for them to decipher what they're feeling. _They do not hate each other_.

Taking away Joshua's way of speaking, for me, is taking away a big part of him. Sure he probably would develop better speech after ten years, but maybe the familiarity was to strong and he kept doing it anyway? He's not retarded and I never wanted it to look like that, he's a big softie with the cutest vocabulary and is also very intelligent.

Cindy and **Sketchy ARE NOT AN COUPLE!** They live together for survival and sleeping together **ONLY** means watching each others back, its nothing romantic about them, _at all._

Logan being married with a dead woman? Aka Asha? Well in my world she obviously didn't die, this is my version of what happens 10 years after the siege after all and she lives. ;)

So there you have it, if anything else is making you confused or anything, let me know.

Just know that this story is AU, but you are of course allowed to have your opinion, I just felt like pointing out anything that might seem too much out of character.

And to finish this authors note; the story is of now; Complete. :) Thanks for reading! :)

I also wanna say thanks to "darkazananagel452", "Kare38" "PrincessOnyx" and "vampout" for reviewing my last chapter. Hope I didn't forget anyone now :)


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